1,725Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles
Summary : AU : What if Naruto was born in the time-line with those of the Sannin? What if Naruto was born in the Uchiha clan and was scorned due to being Izuna Uchiha's son and Madara Uchiha's nephew by the whole village? How would events roll about as he forges down his own path and gains the respect and love of the village to finally climbing the ladder and do what no Uchiha had ever done : Become Hokage.
Let the adventures unroll…
The Uchiha clan, one of the two most formidable clans in Konohagakure no sato. It wasn't a secret to anyone that they were one of the two founder clans of the Hidden Leaf village. Neither was it a secret to anyone that it was one of it's founding father's, belonging to that very clan, that betrayed and attempted to annihilate the very place he nurtured with his own hands.
Madara Uchiha.
The name alone was enough to instill fear among the hearts of any and every shinobi worth their salt, anyone who had ever picked up a history book regarding shinobis knew that name.
That name was the very definition of power and legacy he had left behind.
The power to cave landscapes and mark a whole new valley, just to leave a mark when the man really went all out in his battle prowess.
The Valley of the End was still a reminder to all those who had ever mistaken to forget the name of the menacing legend, the devil that once roamed across the Land of Fire like the Reaper himself. Annihilating the very existence of any person he found unworthy of breathing from the very face of the earth.
But not many knew that the man had married in secret.
Yes, Madara Uchiha, the tyrant, crimson eyed demon, the very virtue of death himself. Many names had been given to the legendary shinobi but none had ever imagined him to be a man who would ever even think to have a family.
But he had.
The man who was rumored to be completely unstoppable against anyone other than the legendary Shodai Hokage Hashirama Senju. The same man wielding the Mokuton, the only one who ever went toe to toe with Madara, and lived the next day to tell his tale.
The man who tamed the Lord of the Bijuus, the Kyuubi in the palm of his hands with a mere glance of his menacing eyes.
That man had a family.
He married a simple woman, and he had a son. A child, born when the man had married a woman of his own clan, one who had managed to creep into the small cracks that were in that stone faced man's heart.
Together they got married and gave birth to a child. A child who was trained by his father, to meet the expectations of his eyes. No one knew of their existence even within the village, since Madara's fame brought with itself the hatred of his enemies too.
The child who he had named after the very brother who had succumbed to his wounds, in his very arms and had left Madara with the power to take on the world by himself.
Izuna.
The boy had lived peacefully amongst his clansmen and villagers for quite some time.
But it was only a tiger sleeping among it's prey.
Waiting for the time to break free his fangs and claws and wipe the very existence of the people who he believed were the reason for his family's destiny.
His mother, who he loved with all his heart had gone to the point of death just because the grief of losing her husband had been too much for her to handle.
That had been the night, the night when he had let the darkness that hid in the skies to overtake his very being and gift him the power to wipe out anyone in his path.
That night he had awakened the eyes that were only wielded once in history by his father.
That night he wielded the Mangekyou Sharingan.
With the new power coursing through his veins, he had started his rampage. The rampage that had destroyed the better part of a third of the village's infrastructure and countless lives were lost in his wake of total insanity.
Only one man stood a chance against him.
It was as if history was repeating itself. As if their predecessors had taken birth yet again through a reincarnation.
Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato had taken charge that night. He was the one who stood in front of the insane man and stopped his slaughter midway before it could continue on any further.
Surely he was no where near the levels of power his elder brother, Hashirama Senju once wielded. But after years of experience as a shinobi and as a Hokage to the village there were few who dared to challenge him to a fight.
However Izuna Uchiha wasn't any man. The fight had lasted the better part of the night before his newly awakened eyes had no more to give into the fight against the Fire Shadow who stood tall above the defeated man that lay on his feet.
There were few that Tobirama had respected in his life with all his heart. His elder brother and surprisingly Madara Uchiha was one of them.
He didn't respect him for his actions in life. No they were disgraceful in his eyes.
He respected the man for his strength and character. The man held himself like a man of his stature should. And for that he had Tobirama's respect. But above all what Tobirama respected the most was Madara's loving heart.
Yes that was what Tobirama knew to be true no matter how ridiculous it sounded to anyone else.
He had done his fair share of studying into the power that hid itself behind those crimson eyes. The power that the world once cowered before. And finally his search had led him to the truth. He had gained the answers he was looking for after years of study into the secrets lurking behind those eyes. The answer was quite simple in the end.
Hate.
That was the answer that had shown itself to him for the fruits of of his labor.
The greater the hatred in the bearer's heart, the greater the visual prowess shall be.
But Tobirama knew it to be a contradiction in itself. For, if hatred was the key to unlocking the power behind those eyes. The trauma had to have come from a trigger that led it wielder to that hatred itself.
And once again the legendary Senju had devised the answer. This time too the answer was very simple, always in front of everyone but no one bothered to question it.
Love.
Now one might say how are love and hate related? They are the polar opposites in reality, just like light and dark, Yin and Yang.
But that was where the key to his answer lay. For Light to exist, Darkness had its existence too. Yin and Yang always were in perfect harmony, for without one the other cannot exist.
The greater the love an Uchiha hid within his pure heart. The greater the hatred would be when it was crushed by the world.
As Tobirama had stood tall, his shadow looming over his defeated opponent the Uchiha had asked for one last wish.
Tobirama Senju was many things in life.
Calm, stoic, calculative, logical, deceptive, a genius. But dishonorable wasn't one of them. Just like every Senju and every Uchiha, he kept one thing over all the others.
Honor.
And there wasn't anything more dishonorable than to deny the last words of a man breathing his last breath in the world.
So he had crouched down as the dying man had whispered his last wish in his ear. Never before had Tobirama been so close to having his heart go under a cardiac arrest as that very moment.
His wide eyes, astonished in disbelief stared at the dying Uchiha who merely smiled sadly with a warmth in his eyes that was never present even once during his battle.
Tobirama watched his eyes turn dull, as the life within them disappeared when his chest stopped heaving breaths and he passed on peacefully.
Tobirama never believed in superstitions, but at that very moment the concept wasn't too foreign to him. For it had happened yet again right in front of his very eyes.
History had repeated itself and he had bourne witness to it himself.
He crouched down and laid his palm over the man's lifeless onyx eyes. His hand slid down gently and closed the eyelids of the fallen man in respect and regret. For that day, he had made another child an orphan and taken away the shadow of his father from his life.
But he had given his word to the dying man; to take care of his legacy in his stead. And he would be damned if he let that promise go to waste.
Don't worry Izuna, your legacy rests safe with me I promise you…
~~~Present Time…
~~~Konohagakure no Sato~~~
It was a bright day for the village that claimed to hide itself within it's leaves. The sky was filled with spaced clouds, allowing ample free space for the bright shiny sun rays to peer their way through them.
The village itself was in as bright a mood as was it's weather on that fine day. For, it was a happy week for it's inhabitants right now.
The Konoha Shinobi Academy had started it's enrollment process, just like it did every year ever since it's foundation nearly a couple of decades ago.
Every citizen of the village, be it shinobi or civilian was allowed for an admission procedure by the laws laid down by the Shodai Hokage himself.
"Next…" the voice of a chunin sitting on a chair behind a desk spoke into the crowd. Another family with their own little child stepped forward to the table handing her the slip containing their number in line. "…here you go, fill this form and get it submitted to the Admissions Office by four in the evening." her happy voice instructed the family.
She graced the little one sitting on his father's shoulders with a warm smile. He was too excited to notice, his eyes still stuck on the form while she waved his mother when they started walking away.
"Miss…" a soft and small voice spoke up, her thoughts broken instantly by it in a mere second. Her heart warmed at hearing the soft voice, no doubt coming from a prospective Academy student.
Her eyes landed on the small mop of blonde hair and blue eyes peering over the edge of her table and gazing at her with all the mustered innocence of the world. His hands being the only thing beside his upper half of his head being visible to her that were kept on the edge. He stood on tiptoes and was looking at the woman with a bitten lip hidden under the table.
Her smile instantly vanished the moment her eyes laid on him and realization dawned on her for the identification of said voice. Her eyes became icy and narrowed in an accusing glare on the blue eyed child on the front edge of her table.
"I want to enroll in the Academy too…" his innocent and soft voice slipped past his lips. Her eyes narrowed in on the blonde mop of hair even more, making him a little nervous from her cold stare.
"Is that right?" she asked a little coldly, the head of said boy bobbing up and down innocently.
"Hai!" he squeaked softly making her frown. She looked down on her small pile of forms before looking around to see that all parents had already taken theirs meaning he was the only one left now.
She gave him a half hearted smile. The boy's nervousness vanished instantly and was replaced by and excited smile.
"I'm sorry boy, but all forms have been given out. You were a bit late…" she lied smoothly, making his smile vanish instantly off his face.
"Oh…" he whispered, obviously saddened by her remark. She peered up from her work and frowned, she felt a little guilty for doing so but it was for the greater good in the end. That was what she told herself and continued on her work to take her mind off of it.
"Umm where can I get one then miss?" his innocent voice spoke up yet again making her let out a sigh and slam her pen down in annoyance. He was startled a bit at her sudden loud action and stumbled on his toes, causing him to stumble back a bit.
"You can't. All forms for this year's admissions have been given out, you came too late. Now go and try again next year." she answered curtly and picked her pen up. She went about her papers, not seeing the small watering eyes or the quivering lip of said boy.
"Thank you for your time miss…" she heard his soft whisper trailing with a small sniffle at the end. She stopped her work momentarily to see him walking out slowly, no doubt in sadness if his little hunched shoulders were any indication.
She bit her lip when she saw him open the metal gates to the Academy and turn around. She wanted to stop him but he had already gone away by then. A sigh slipped past her lips and her hand massaged her temples tiredly.
"Why am I feeling sympathy for him? He is nothing but trouble anyways, just like them…" she thought bitterly, and went back to her work.
The blonde's golden locks shone as bright as the sun itself while he walked down the streets slowly. He wiped his eyes and saw the main entrance for the Academy children in front of him which would open a couple of days from now for all the new admissions.
"But not for me…" he sniffled to himself and walked to the wooden swing in front of said gate slowly.
The swing made soft creaking noises every now and then while his legs waved in the air with each movement he took on the ride. It made him feel a little better, the shade of the tree, the nests of the birds over it chirping loudly.
He loved nature, it always made him feel warm and nice. Especially the garden in his house.
"Kaa-chan see this is where I'll come day after tomorrow to become an awesome shinobi!" his little reprieve was instantly worsened even more so than before when he heard those words.
His longing blue eyes stared at the family with a look akin to that of someone who could just wish for what just could not be his.
Family.
He bit his lip, watching on with that same longing gaze at the boy hunched over his father's shoulders while they all laughed at his expense.
"Yes you're right but first we have to submit your form to the Hokage tomorrow sweetie or you won't be enrolled…" he heard and kept it in the back of his mind for future reference.
"Kaa-chan look the lady at that office gave me an extra form by mistake, what should I do with it?" his voice rang when he walked past the tree where our adorable little blonde sat. The said blonde's ears perked up and a small spark of hope now lingered on in his eyes.
"Throw it away sweetie, it's of no use to you anyways…" his mother told him with a soft giggle. The boy did as his mother had told him and threw it over his head without a second thought.
The slip of paper flew behind the three in the air and the blonde boy's swing stopped abruptly. His blue eyes narrowed in on the slowly flying piece of paper.
Konoha Shinobi Admissions Programme
His eyes widened as soon as he read the words on top of the paper and he was off the swing in an instant. His little feet stumbled a little, but he caught his balance and chased the flying paper for dear life.
He leaned down between his stumbling and nervous steps, swinging his arms around for failed attempts at catching the paper he needed so much right now.
Finally, his fingers stuck on the flying form, his feet slowing down gradually before he was standing in the middle of the empty street all alone, looking at the piece of paper in his little hands with wide eyes.
Konoha Shinobi Admissions Programme
He read the first line again to reassure himself that he really had one. He bit his lips and clutched the form to his chest as if it was made of gold. His eyes clenched in desperation to believe it really was true.
"I've got it, I finally have one. Now I can enroll too!" he thought to himself and ran back towards his house with a small hop in his little steps. Everyone eyes him coldly, with a look that clearly said 'are you stupid?', seeing him clutch a piece of paper to his chest so protectively as if it was his whole life.
But the child could care less, he was far too happy right now to pay attention to these little things at the moment. He had a form to fill and submit to the Hokage tomorrow.
~~~Next Morning…
The streets of Konoha bustled with happy villagers going about their lives. A small boy, with his shiniest golden locks walked around them, snaking past legs to make sure Che didn't bump into anyone.
The admission form, now all filled out was still clutched to his chest like a lifeline. For, he had to make sure he didn't accidentally lose it.
No, that won't do at all.
He had never been to this part of the village. It was the main shopping district, acting as the nerve center for the entire village.
He had never needed to.
He always stayed in his clan compounds. They had everything he ever needed anyways. They were really nice and cozy, they made him feel safe.
Safer than he felt now from all the cold glares and snide remarks being sent his way from all those he caught eyes from.
He still got those occasional stares or remarks in his clan too, but they were a lot lesser in his own clan grounds. They were used to his presence there on a day to day basis. The rest of the village wasn't.
Plus, he wasn't oblivious as to the reason for said treatment towards him exclusively. His mother had told him everything before she had passed away a few months back.
His father and grandfather had done bad things to the village and hurt a lot of people in the village before the past two Hokages had put a stop to their actions.
That thought made him smile, thinking about his dream. His eyes raised their level upwards, to see the mountain shadowing the back of the village with two sacredly carved faces watching over them all at all times.
That was his dream.
He would have his face up there too one day.
He would become Hokage.
~~~Hokage Tower…
His soft footsteps made their way in front of the large tower that stood tall smack bang in the middle of the village.
His baby blue eyes widened in awe, looking at the tower in nothing but pure admiration in his eyes. He had never seen such a large tower and now he was a little sad that he hadn't come here before now.
It was so pretty and huge.
He broke off his thoughts when a jounin gave him a slight nudge and went about without so much as an apology. His eyes gazed on the back of the man before turning back to the tower with a small smile, the form now clutched ever so tightly by his chest.
He walked through the large hallways of the tower, stopping every now and then to see and read the small things written underneath some portraits of important figures stacked on the walls. He admired the teak wood walls of the tower and shining wooden floor that made him feel almost self conscious about stepping on.
He walked on like a lost man in an unknown world. Several Genins, Chunins, Jounins and even some doctors and normal civilians had walked past him now.
No wonder this tower was in the middle of the village. It not only had the Hokage but everyone came here so it made complete sense to his innocent mind.
He tried to stop some people to ask them for directions to where he was supposed to go in such a large building but no one was stopping for him. Either everyone was too busy or no one wanted to help him.
He thought it was the first one… a little uncertainly.
Finally after going on confused through the first two floors he reached a point where he saw a middle aged lady sitting on a table, right besides a door that had only one Kanji over it.
Hokage.
He had no doubt that this was the place he was supposed to go to. He walked up to the desk, first looking around to see if he had to get a number in a line like yesterday. He stood there innocently for a few minutes, when he finally saw a man just walk to her before she did something in her book and let him go in.
He smiled, finally seeing there was no line or need for any waiting and walked up the desk. Just like yesterday he stood up on his toes, his face peering over the edge up to his nose.
"Miss…" his soft voice spoke up startling her in surprise. She looked up and blinked to see two cute eyes blinking back at her. She was about to smile when realization dawned on her as to who he was and her face was masked in a neutral expression.
"What can I do for you?" she asked curtly, without so much as a hint of emotion in her voice. The blonde though smile seeing she wasn't sending him away or talking to him rudely like some people had done before and put his form on the table with one hand and clutched the edge of the table with both of them for a little added support.
"Can I meet the Hokage please?" he asked politely in his soft voice making her crease her eyebrows together in a knit.
She had half a mind to tell him off rudely, but she was still on duty and as her duty stated she had to treat everyone who came to her equally.
Even him….
"Not right now. No." she answered in her curt voice and turned her eyes down to the register. The blonde bit his lip softly and nodded nervously.
"Alright miss, how long do I have to wait?" he asked making her look up, this time with a hint of annoyance laced in her eyes.
"I told you not right now, didn't I? The Hokage is a very busy man and only entertains people who have made a prior appointment with him." she answered his query as professionally as possible and returned to her work. Her nodded hesitantly yet again, inwardly glad she was answering his questions so nicely.
"What's this appointment miss? How can I get one?" he asked innocently making her let out a tired sigh. He would leave her alone to her piling work until she had cleared off all his doubts.
She looked at those innocent wide curious eyes that were looking to absorb each word she said.
Nope not at all was he leaving her alone simply by himself. Now her full attention was on him to get him away as quickly as possible.
"An appointment is a fixed time you have to get before you can meet him. He has many people who want to see him and he can't meet with everyone right? So you get an appointment beforehand to get a meeting with him. Do you understand now?" she asked tiredly and got a happy nod from the bubbly boy. She sighed in relief that he was at least smart and she wouldn't have to waste any more time playing this rapid fire round with him.
"Can I get an appointment too?" he asked happily. A sigh slipped past her lips and she nodded tiredly. No matter how much she wanted to refuse him, he had all the right to meet the man and get an appointment. Her finger trailed down the register to get a free slot and stopped at the first one.
Her eyes turned up to the blonde staring at her intently and she nodded to him making him beam happily.
"There's a slot free for you. Come back and meet him in two weeks. Come back after lunch, I'll fix you an appointment then." she said simply and looked down the register to book it. The azure eyes widened in shock at her words.
"But the Academy starts in two days and tomorrow is the last day to be admitted. Can't it be before then?" he asked hurriedly. His voice carrying the worry that was now etched in his heart when he saw her shake her head in negative straight away.
"No, all the slots until then are filled. You can't meet him before then." she said curtly and wanted to resume her work when his voice cut through her thoughts again.
"Please miss, I won't take long. Just five minutes, I just have to get him to stamp this see…" he said pulling up his arm to show his form with the blank place for his stamp. Her frowned deepened into a scowl as her patience were now getting thinned by the second. She shook her head with a clenched jaw and his eyes now turned pleadingly wide. "…I'll be really quick please…" he said softly but was cut off as the irate receptionist slammed her hands on her desk softly, startling him out of his wits.
"Don't you understand boy? He doesn't have time to meet and entertain children like you all day. Now go and come back for your appointment. If you wanted to enter so bad why didn't you come earlier?" she said in a neutral voice barely hanging on to her patience and his features visibly saddened at that.
"I didn't know until yesterday and got my form from a boy who had an extra with him. The Academy lady had given out all forms already, please just a few minutes…" he said softly and the secretary had finally had enough now.
"Stop your whining kid!" she said rudely making his eyes widen in surprise. "If you wanted to enter so much, then you should have come earlier and get it done like everyone else did. Didn't your parents teach anything about the Academy before now? Now go and whine to them and stop disturbing me, I have work to attend to." she said in a tone of finality and returned back to her work, happy that she didn't get any more whining from that annoying boy. The sound of a soft sniffle reached her ears when she heard his hands slip down from her table and he she looked up to see him retreat a couple of steps back.
He was holding his form in both his hands now and his silky golden hair now shadowed his eyes. His pained eyes looked at the form while barely holding back a sob.
"I don't have any parents miss…" he said in such a small voice that she would have missed it had the hallway not been so silent. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw small drops slipping down his cheeks and down on the paper clutched in his tiny hands. Her heart clenched at the sight when he spoke up with a polite boy, shocking her to the core at his form of respect even after the way she had treated him.
"I'm sorry miss, it's my fault. I shouldn't have forced you like that and disturbed you from your work. Thank you for answering all my questions so nicely and giving me your time. I'll take my leave now…" he said softly with a slight sniffle, rising up from his bow to wipe his nose sloppily with his sleeve. Her astonished eyes watched him walk past her table silently and throw the form in the dustbin kept to the side.
Guilt crept up her heart and she bit her lip. No matter who he was, he was still a little child and didn't know what to do without his parents to tell him.
She broke her thoughts to call out to him, only to see him already gone and the now empty hallway making her guilt increase two folds.
Her train of thoughts went on, unaware of a pair of narrowed stoic amber eyes watching the empty hallway quite intently from the sidelines.
Tobirama Senju stood by his door, his arms crossed while he leaned with his back to the wall. He had come out to see what this conversation was about and to get his next set of paperwork that hadn't been brought in, only to catch an earful of the last part of the conversation.
Needless to say, with what he heard he wasn't pleased in the slightest. This was his village, and no child should be treated the way that boy had been treated just now. For some matter, the boy seemed a little familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it for the life of him. And that annoyed him to no end, he wasn't a man to be left with unanswered questions. Everyone knew that about him.
He walked up to the receptionist's desk who looked back to see who it was tiredly. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing Tobirama himself standing there, albeit not looking at her instead his eyes now dead set on the dustbin kept to the side. She stood up scrambling the messed up piles of paper hurriedly, knowing how eyeing the man could be for such trivial matters.
"H-Hokage-sama!? What can I do for you?" she asked with a slight stutter of nervousness and cursed herself for it inwardly. He paid her no heed and walked to the dustbin that had caught his eyes now, and picked out the small slip of paper laid on the top.
His eyes narrowed in on the sloppily filled form. Especially the small wet spots now marring it's surface, no doubt made by the tears of that innocent child. He focused his thoughts on the form itself and read it thoroughly as he was used to like always.
Konoha Shinobi Admissions Programme
Admittee's name :- My name is Naruto Uchiha.
Mother's Maiden Name :- My Kaa-chan's name is Mia Namikaze.
Father's name :- My Tou-san's name is Izuna Uchiha
"Legal Guardian/Father's name :- Umm I don't know about that but I'll tell you after I ask Kagami Oji-san.
Clan Status (If any) :- I am from the Uchiha clan.
Age :- I am five but I'll be six in two weeks.Reasons for joining the Academy (To be filled in by the admittee) :- Shinobi are cool, my Tou-san was a great one from what my Kaa-chan told me. And I want to be one like him. Oh and I want to be the Hokage!
Pledge to loyalty for the village (To be filled in by the admittee) :- I love my village but I don't know what this pledge is, I'll get it after I find it. So please give me a little time to find it alright?
Tobirama, the man known for masking his emotions to the utmost across the elemental nations couldn't help the mall smirk that was now etched on his face while his eyes read past the words in pure curiosity.
The cute way he had filled out the form with, and how he had forgotten to add his own picture to it made it quite clear to him that the child didn't have the slightest bit of idea how to fill a form and had tried his best regardless of that, to the best of is knowledge. The small tear stains had smudged up his already sloppy handwriting a bit but he could make out all of it quite clearly.
He was surprised for a moment to read his father's name but now it made sense to him why his secretary had been so adamant about sticking to the rules, particularly with him.
His eyes left the form and looked up to the nervous secretary. His gaze narrowed in on the woman who shivered a little, gulping softly in nervousness from the man's intense stare.
"Why didn't you let the child meet me?" he asked stoically, though the dangerous glint behind it wasn't lost to the woman.
"Y-You see Hokage-sama, there was no time slot left in your timing register and…" her voice was cut off by the piercing voice of the man whose eyes had narrowed even further at her slight stuttering voice.
"I have a little free time in between my appointments. Surely a few minutes between any one of them could have been discerned for the child since the matter was so trivial as to just needing my stamp of approval. So why?" he asked again in a steel like voice making her gulp down her nervousness and try to speak but he cut her off again.
"You hate him." he stated simply, leaving no room for arguments. Her eyes widened in shock when he slapped the truth in her face and she shook her head vigorously. He paid her lies no heed and continued on completely undeterred.
"He is his father's son, yes. He has his grandfather's blood coursing through his veins, yes. He is related to two traitorous shinobi of the village, yes." he said stoically and watched her look at him speak as if he was an alien of sorts, no doubt shocked by his words, but he didn't stop.
"But he is a part of this village. He has done nothing wrong. He doesn't even have anyone to teach him how to fill a form properly…" he spoke pointedly, slapping the form on the desk for emphasis over his point. The woman flinched at the slapping sound but peered her gaze over the cutely filled form, feeling even more guilty and ashamed than ever before.
"How would you feel if you were an orphan and someone slapped that point straight into your face, her words full of disgust and loathing?" he asked coldly. She couldn't meet his accusing eyes with her own and turned them down to her feet in shame. She shrunk visibly under his stare that he held for a moment, before picking the form up and walking away.
But just before he walked down the stairs he stopped for his final parting words.
"Go home and don't return tomorrow." he said blankly and the secretary snapped her neck up to stare at his back with horror stricken eyes.
"H-hokage-sama?!" she stuttered out in shock and he glanced back with his lone visible eye to make himself quite clear now.
"You're fired." he said simply and walked down the stairs leaving a stunned and shell shocked kunoichi behind.
~~~In the village…
Tobirama walked through the streets, now a little irritated and annoyed at the new development. His plan to go straight to the boy and meet him to clear of the prior confusion had went completely down the drain. The guards at the Uchiha clan compounds gates had notified him that he had left the compounds in the morning but hadn't returned as of yet.
He would have used his sensory abilities had he memorized his chakra signature at first sight. But he hadn't done so.
So here he was doing the searching in the old fashioned way.
"Have you seen a six-year-old blonde haired, blue eyes boy around here?" he asked, stopping by a stunned vendor who shook his head nervously. Not having words to see the emotionless Hokage asking him such a weird question.
He let out a sigh and walked away, asking himself why he wasn't having an ANBU search for the boy. But he already knew the answer as to why.
Pride.
It would hurt his pride that he, a Senju clan head, the current Hokage and probably the strongest shinobi in the Land of Fire couldn't find a six-year-old boy by himself. Plus, it was better that being stuck all day in the office, rummaging about his paperwork.
"That surely must be the bane of all Kage. I could already feel my skills dulling if I neglect my training in favor of all that in a few months more." he sighed tiredly and stopped at another vendor near the edge of the village towards the Hokage mountains.
"Have you seen a six-year-old blonde haired, blue eyes boy around here?" he asked yet again, and this time relief washed across his heart when he got a nod from the man. Frankly, he felt quite stupid to find him like this. But it felt nice for a change to interact with people normally again.
Only now did he realize how right Kagami really was. He had told him that he was far too engrossed these days in his work. And now he was agreeing seeing how much of it was true.
He walked up the mountain in thought, not realizing when he had peered past the monument and towards the back clearing of it.
"Meewww!" a soft mewling sound reached his ears making them perk up instantly. So there were signs of life here after all. He walked into the bushes and followed the soft purring and mewling sounds to their source.
"Kiara! Come on you have to eat this too!" a soft voice, no doubt a young child was admonishing someone called Kiara for something concerning food.
He spread the last bush into the clearing by his hands and peeked in to see the same mop of blonde hair he had been looking for so long sitting there with a small white cub in his arms.
Well that was the source of the mewls an purrs he deducted logically. His foot accidentally stepped on a twig making a small cracking voice.
He rose an eyebrow when he saw the blonde child in front of him perk up and scoot back instantly. He was completely on guard with the cub now wrapped up protectively in his arms.
"Meewwwww!" he tried to muffle her mewls but couldn't stop from giggling when the cub was licking his cheek softly much to his protests. Tobirama once more had to smirk at the adorable scene in front of him.
Though his amber eyes narrowed in on the cub when he saw something out of place with it. His eyes widened momentarily and he realized what was wrong truly in the first place.
"That is no ordinary kitten, it's a white tiger cub!" he drawled on in his mind and saw the boy curl the cub in his arms into a little ball of fur and now completely out of his eyes.
"Please don't take her from here, she lives here and I take care of her…" he said in a guarded voice once more surprising the ever stoic Senju.
"So he knows the cub does not belong here yet he takes care of it and keeps it hidden from everyone. Smart for his age, no doubt about that…" he concluded and stepped out of the bush, dusting his clothes gently.
Tobirama crouched down on one knee in front of the boy who was now rocking the cub a little to calm her down. Tobirama was quite surprised that a cub of a species such as his own had taken a liking to a human child no less. His eyes met the boy's baby blue ones that were still guarded and completely defiant making him a bit proud at his protective nature.
"I'm not her to take the cub child." he stated blankly and watched the boy blink innocently before nodding and relaxing completely.
"Though it is rather easy to convince him otherwise…" he deduced silently and watched the boy smile and settle the ball of fur over his lap. The cub curled up in a small ball and let out a cure yawn, her ears twitching cutely at that moment. Tobirama watched the boy brush her back and get small purrs out of her and couldn't help but be surprised at how comfortable the cub was around him.
"Why are you here mister?" he heard the innocent question of the blonde and gave him a curt nod of acknowledgment. He pulled out his folded form from his pocket and handed it to the boy who took it hesitantly, no doubt wondering what it really was.
Naruto unfurled the folds and had wide eyes when he saw that it was his admissions form. But more than that he was astonished to see the stamp that was now marked in the blank square he needed to have filled in the first place. It was the official stamping that donned the Kanji of Nidaime Hokage over it along with it saying it was approved. He looked at the man with a bright and grateful smile.
"How did you get it signed mister? I thought the Hokage didn't have any appointments for two weeks. Did you have one earlier and get this signed for me?" he asked making Tobirama purse his lips in thought.
So the boy had a dream to be Hokage but was still so innocent and oblivious to the fact that the current reigning Hokage was sitting in front of him?
That was…amusing to say the least.
"Yes, you could say that." he said simply, and saw the blonde too happy to notice his slight hesitance in words. Naruto put his finger on the cub's nose and gave it a soft rub, only to make said cub scrunch it up in irritation.
"Meeewwww!" the cub mewled softly and Naruto kissed her head in an apology for disturbing her nap, getting yet another purr out of her. But he had to show her this.
"See Kiara this mister got it signed for me! Now I can go to the Academy too…" he whispered to her and Tobirama saw now the slight tear marks on his fare cheeks.
The child had been crying her no doubt.
"Meeewwww!" the cub mewled in a hurt like manner making him chuckle at the pouting blonde, who had bonked her softly when she tried to lick and bite his form instead of reading it like he wanted her to.
"You don't have to eat everything you glutton!" he scolded her half heartedly, before scooping her up and kissing her nose to make her lick his own softly.
Tobirama chuckled at the boy's antics making the boy turn a bit sheepish and stick his tongue out childishly.
The Stoic Senju wondered just how long it had been since he had had a laugh like this. He was now becoming socially inept, not that he normally wasn't but now he would be even more.
He sighed when he saw the confused looking Naruto and Kiara blinking at him innocently, wondering what he was thinking no doubt.
"So you want to be Hokage?" he asked to take their minds of his behavior and saw him look at him surprised before looking down at his form and then back at him with a small smile and nodded happily.
"Hai! I'll become the hokage one day." he said making Tobirama smirk ever so slightly. The boy had said 'want to become', it was 'will become' which left only the argument of when he would become one. "Hmm and why is that if I may ask?" he asked in a hint of curiosity, eyeing him calculatingly to discern his incoming answer.
"Because my Kaa-chan told me how awesome they were…" he said happily making his eyebrow shoot up in surprise. Now this was a new one he mused and urged him to go on, this he would like to hear. "…she said that he is the strongest shinobi in our lands, one who each one every other respects and our enemies fear. He looks after each and everyone regardless of who they are, maybe if I become one everyone will love me too…" he whispered the last part in a faraway voice making Tobirama's eyes soften ever so slightly.
"I see…" he said in affirmative. He knew of the child's scorn but he could implement that the child be treated fair in every possible way. For which there was his decree in place, but he could not make them accept him, that only came with time. He had even tried to adopt the child by himself but the clan laws he himself had placed once had stopped him.
Oh the irony, his own laws working against him now.
But there was nothing he could do. He did belong to the most royal family of the Uchiha clan with the most noble of their bloods. There was no doubt in anyone's minds that he would one day inherit their pride and joy, their kekkei genkai in his eyes too. It was his birthright after all.
That was the very reason he had been rejected in the first place. The fear of their bloodline's purest form falling prey to an outsider, a Senju no less was a risk the Uchiha clan wasn't willing to take.
It had always pained his heart that he was the very reason why he had been orphaned in the first place and how little he could do for the boy without making it look personal. The power of the Hokage came with several restraints.
Not showing favoritism to a single individual being one of them.
He had known his mother for quite some time. A nice woman, belonging to a small shinobi family without any fame and marrying into the most strongest families of the leaf. Even after her husband's death, she hadn't kept even an ounce of animosity or ill-will towards him personally.
Both sat in comfortable silence, with Tobirama's conflicted amber eyes gazing over at the waterfall in front of them with a glance holding a hint of solemnity in them.
"It's a nice dream…" he said, in barely above a whisper but loudly audible to the blonde child sitting by his side, clearly enjoying the calm serenity of nature all around him.
"Now I can go to the Academy and become a shinobi, then one day I'll be Hokage, the first Uchiha to be one, believe it…!" Tobirama watched the child in fascination. Never before had he seen a child belonging to the Uchiha clan proclaim the dream to lead their village and become acknowledged by everyone with such fire and passion.
They were raised up in an environment to always pride themselves in their old ways. Especially, their mightiest Sharingan.
But this boy was different.
Different from all those that came before him.
Different from Izuna.
Different from Madara.
Almost purely out of instinct, he raised his hand. His large hand covered the boy's small head gently. Naruto's curious and wide baby blue eyes looked at Tobirama with all the innocent confusion in the world, the child was no doubt confused by his action.
"I believe you." he said simply. His voice holding no emotions in them like usual, the ever stoic voice of Tobirama Senju. He watched those azure eyes widen even more than they usually were and his features suddenly became hesitant and nervous.
Naruto hadn't expected him to say that. His voice was so firm, so confident. He couldn't even decipher an ounce of doubt in his words.
It made a warmth envelope his chest like never before. He truly sounded like he believed him. The first one ever aside from his mother to believe in him and not outright laugh or send a snide remark at him.
Tobirama ruffled his hair gently and looked straight, not seeing the boy glance at the man every now and then in a new found nervousness shining in his eyes.
Naruto couldn't understand the man. How could he believe in his dream just like that? He didn't even know him.
"Say…" his soft voice rang in the comfortable silence. Tobirama gave no signs of hearing him but Naruto could feel his complete and rapt attention on him.
The man by his side was so mysterious.
"How can you believe in my dream so easily? You don't even know me." he asked in childlike curiosity. Tobirama sat in silence for a few moments, as if pondering on the words of the child.
However he wasn't. He knew the answer to the child's question the instant it left his lips. No, he was instead pondering on the nature of his words.
They weren't put forth like a normal child his age would. His voice was innocent and childlike, but he knew for these were the moments in one's life. The questions' of man's childhood that forged the path he would no doubt endure for the rest of his life.
"I know you." he said stoically, chucking a pebble in the lake in front of him. The pebble bounced a number of times, the ripples echoing in the water as if rippling with the weight of the words he was considering at the moment.
"For I know everyone in this village." he continued in his emotionless voice. For some reason, Naruto could feel the happiness the man no doubt felt as he was uttering each and every word even though his face portrayed none.
"Every elderly, man, woman, child, family, place…" he continued on not noticing the blonde's curious eyes glued on his face from the side.
Tobirama turned his glance down on the lake's water, his own reflection staring back at him. A leaf fell over it, rippling apart the mirror image.
"For I am the stem that holds it's leaves, fruits and branches up, even in the mightiest of winds. For each and everyone in this village is a part of me, my responsibility." he said making Naruto's face turn to one of realization. Tobirama smirked ever so slightly at seeing the dawning face of the blonde and turned his glance to him.
Naruto could feel himself drawing into the man's powerful and intense eyes. They held such confidence, such fire in them. He couldn't help but feel respect for the man he had just met.
His mother always used to say that one glance in a person's eyes was all it took to assess his heart. And for the first time, today he found her words to be true.
He respected the man, but from this point on he looked up to him.
"For I am the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato. The Shadow that protects this village from the fiery rays of the skies." he said stoically. His voice had such authority in it that it made Naruto's hair stand up for a moment.
Naruto looked down to the water and flailed his dipped feet gently in the water. He smiled, watching the fish inside tickle his toes softly getting a few giggles out of him.
Tobirama himself watched on in pure curiosity. The boy's calming presence was inviting fishes over to him, he glanced back to see a couple of deer grazing the grass softly. It was strange, they should no doubt scour off as soon as they see a human.
His eyes turned to the giggling blonde by his side. His eyes softened momentarily, the boy's innocence was contagious. He was so naive yet content with all that he had.
But that didn't stop him from dreaming for more.
That was the drive that intrigued Tobirama to the boy. For, at that moment he wished himself that the boy would stay true to his words and one day come to him for his position.
For the time being though…
"Kyaaa!" the blonde yelped and fell down into the lake with a small splash. Tobirama retracted his hand from where the blonde once used to be and looked at the dripping boy glaring at him heatedly. He only showed one response to him though.
He merely raised an eyebrow.
It seemed to infuriate the blonde boy even more when he pointed an accusatory finger at him.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" he asked heatedly making Tobirama's eyebrow shoot up a bit more.
"I have no idea what you are talking about…" he lied smoothly. Years of being a political and militaristic leader had honed his deceptive skills to the utmost precision.
"But how will you become a Hokage, when you can't even save yourself from falling into a lake?" he asked stoically, though the underlying mirth of playfulness wasn't lost to the blonde haired Uchiha.
He fumed and almost had steam coming off of his ears. That stoic voice was getting on his nerves and he was lying too! It wasn't fair!
SPLASH…
"Ahahahaha….!" the blonde laughed and giggled, holding his sides when they started to hurt a little.
Tobirama's eye twitched in annoyance. He brought a hand up to his face and brought it down slowly. The dripping droplets collecting in his palms and falling down his dripping form harmlessly.
He merely glanced at the boy stoically, the blonde boy who had the nerve to splash water at him of all people! It was truly amusing and utterly surprising to him.
He watched the boy double over in laughter and slap the water with his hand, mumbling incoherent jokes pointed at him and then laughing at him.
It would have been an adorable sight, had he not been the one who was currently dripping that is…
"You do realize that you just splashed water on a shinobi who is renowned throughout the elemental nations for his unparalleled mastery over the Water element?" his stoic voice rang throughout the clearing. The blonde's adorable giggles ceased and he watched on Tobirama's towering form, cowering a bit.
"And that too while you were standing in the middle of a lake full of water itself." he pointed out a brought the obvious. Naruto couldn't help but gulp and watched the surrounding water bodies a bit nervously. They looked quite scary now…
"Now now we can settle this peacefully like adults…" Naruto tried to negotiate with a sheepish chuckle and Tobirama's eye twitched dangerously at his stupid excuse.
"Well that will not be possible…" he reasoned in a sudden calmness that Naruto took as a queue to run.
"SINCE YOU'RE NOT AN ADULT! NOW GET BACK HERE!" he shouted and formed a couple of water whips in his palms. The blonde yelped and ran throughout the clearing, trying to pry off those dangerous looking whips with skillful and last moment dodges.
Tobirama took this time of playful banter to realize how honed his agile instincts really were as he tried to press on slowly a little by little to see and gauge the limits of the blonde that had peeked his interest a bit.
Mito Uzumaki, the heiress to the great Uzumaki clan and the sealing mistress herself was walking in the fields with a baffled look marring her beautiful face, regardless of her age.
She had tried to go and find Tobirama, since Tsunade had to start her Academy tomorrow and had picked the house over her head to go shopping for her dress and equipment with her Ojii-san and Baa-san.
The first place she had looked into, was the first place anyone would go to find the ever stoic Senju these days.
The Hokage Tower.
But what surprised her truly was that rather than finding him there. There wasn't a trace of life near his office. The secretary wasn't there to be seen and Tobirama's desk was unkempt with half filled paperwork stacks.
Now this intrigued her. For a man who was hell bent on getting everything perfect, his table had surprised her. She wondered what had come over him to leave so abruptly like that.
But there was no trace across the Tower for the man. So finally, she had given up and resorted to desperate measures.
Her special ability, Negative Emotions Sensing had kicked in at that moment. She was renowned for her sensing ability as the strongest sensor in the world for quite some time now and was surprised when her senses led her straight towards the back clearing of the Hokage monuments.
" *WHIP* Kyaaa!" she heard a soft yelp followed by what seemed like chasing footsteps. She pushed the bushes away, after following those strange sounds to their source and her violet orbs widened in shock at what she saw.
"Hey come on! Now we're square! Both of us are wet and you hit me once too!" the blonde yelped, dodging another whip while Tobirama was having the time of his life. It had been so long when he had cut loose and he couldn't even remember when he had joined in on some childish antics like this one today.
"The why don't you stop running?" asked Tobirama following the sprinting blonde who picked the small sleeping cub up in his arms and rolled to the side effortlessly for another dodge.
"Will you stop then?" he asked, his breathing a bit erratic now and his voice pretty hopeful. He hadn't intended to piss the man off so much.
"No…" Tobirama said and Naruto's mouth opened and closed at his honest reply wordlessly, completely baffled in confusion. Tobirama wanted to assess his stamina a bit too, plus, not that he would admit it to anyone.
This was a little fun…
"OH COME ON!" he shouted and jumped aside from another whip when his azure eyes caught the stare of the baffled violet ones and a plan formed in his head making him smirk.
Mito stood there, staring at the scene in front of her in utter disbelief. Never had she thought in so many years that she would see Tobirama Senju acting so childishly as if he was his elder brother.
Her thoughts were broken off when a golden blur barreled straight into her waist and a small pair of arms slid around her hips tightly.
She looked down and her motherly instincts kicked in, wrapping her own arms around the little boy's head and brushing his hair gently.
"Hey what's wrong little one?" she asked in a gentle motherly voice and her heart twisted when she saw those doe looking puppy dog eyes that were shimmering a little with unshed tears. Couple with their usual shine and beautiful color, well needless to say the charm worked perfectly.
"Miss, that scary man is chasing me and hurting me…please help me…" he faked a soft sniffle between his words and Mito's eyes turned murderous. Her reasoning capabilities went out the window as soon as she heard that soft sniffle coupled with those adorable eyes and killing intent washed over the fields while she brought his face close into her stomach.
Tobirama, unaware of it all was wondering where the boy had sprinted off to when he felt a humongous amount of killing intent from behind him making him shiver.
He suddenly had a feeling of foreboding which proved to be quite effective in this case as an Adamantine Chain wrapped around his stomach and reeled him back quickly like a rag doll.
His confused amber eyes stared into the murderous violet orbs of his sister-in-law in utter confusion. He couldn't get why she was so angry and for that matter why he was hanging upside down in mid air while his ankle had a chakra chain wrapped around it.
He turned his head up, which was down in Mito's eyes and his eyes widened a little when he realized what had happened and how much trouble he was in right now.
The blonde giggled softly in Mito's arms who was gushing inwardly, thinking he was feeling ticklish from her strokes and not seeing him stick out his tongue at Tobirama and mouth some words that made Tobirama give him a death glare.
"Shinobi don't play fair old man!" he read the blonde's lips and fumed inwardly when he saw his soft snickers and turned his head down, which was up in Mito's case and saw her scowling face. Her intimidating posture was towering over him, her hands on her hips to make her point clear.
"Mito this is all a misunderstanding you see…" he tried to reason with the bristling Uzumaki heiress who was in no mood for negotiations. Already falling under the charm of Naruto's Puppy Dog Eyes no jutsu.
"Tobirama Senju how dare you scare a little innocent child like that? Have you no shame? I didn't expect this, least of all from you." her regal voice scolded him and he shrunk a little like a child in front of his mother.
"But I didn't…" he said again but trailed off when he saw her eyes narrow dangerously and his ear was being pulled and twisted quite painfully.
"Now listen here big man, if I find you chasing innocent children and scaring them like that again…" she trailed off and he gulped seeing her silent threat, nodding furiously.
He sweat dropped a moment later. Wasn't he a Hokage and the strongest shinobi in the world right now?
To be scolded by a woman, being held upside down at that was a great wound to his pride. Especially, in front of the blonde who was barely stifling his giggles and watching the scene in amusement.
Tobirama threw him a betrayed glare when he was dropped face first into the ground unceremoniously. His body twitched a couple of times comically, and Mito's eyes turned to the blonde who was hiding in her embrace snuggling happily and they softened instantly.
"There no one will trouble you like that again , alright?" she asked and he nodded ever so innocently with a grateful smile. He smiled at the nice woman and nodded happily, she had a calming aura that made him smile and go to her almost instantly.
They heard a cough and Naruto turned to see Tobirama dusting his clothes off and trying to gather up what was left of his wounded pride right now.
"So Mito what brings you by her to find me?" he asked trying to change the subject and the Uzumaki heiress blinked innocently and realized what she had come here for in the first place.
"Tsunade had picked the house up over her head because you didn't come for her shopping appointment as promised. So, I came to find you but you weren't at the Tower and then that search led me here." she explained simply and he nodded.
"I lost track of time." he said honestly and the Uzumaki heiress gave him a knowing smile. No matter how he tried to mask it she had seen that playful smirk on his face when he was involved in his childish antics mere moments ago.
Naruto looked between the two nervously, seeing how they had forgotten about his presence here and looked up at the orange sky only to realize how late it was.
"Umm I should probably just go, it was nice meeting you two." he said in a soft polite tone making the two adults blink. Mito though caught his shoulders and gave him a stern look that made him freeze in place before her eyes softened and she cupped his cheek in her hand gently.
"You must be joining the Academy too right?" she asked softly and he nodded, blushing a bit in embarrassment at how she treated him so kindly. He wasn't used to this behavior with everyone almost always giving him the cold shoulder.
Mito squealed in delight inwardly at the adorable boy who was a shy mess at her mere touch right now. He was so cute!
She turned her eyes to Tobirama who had his arms crossed and was looking at the scene in fascination as if it was a movie for him to enjoy.
"Tobirama since you have missed your spree with Tsunade already, why don't we take this adorable thing with us to make up for lost time?" she asked with a playful smile. He smirked and nodded, raising an eyebrow at the boy who was looking between the two with lost eyes.
"Of course, he is in need of new clothes and equipment for the Academy too." he said, nodding in affirmative. Naruto's eyes widened and Mito watched him squirm nervously.
"What's the matter?" she asked him in a gentle voice and looked to see his adorable wide eyes looking at her apologetically.
"Umm you don't have to, I mean I have clothes already in my house…" he said softly, trying to make them see his point that he didn't really want them to see.
Both elders glanced at each other in confusion before turning back to the nervous blonde.
"Then you must need books and scrolls right? I mean you can't have those since the curriculum is revised almost every year by Tobirama?" she asked him and he bit his lip and said nothing. The two elders were quite curious at his strange actions now.
Mito knew who he was, there weren't many blondes who donned the Uchiha symbol proudly on their shoulders. She knew who he was, the only outcast Uchiha in the village.
And she, for the life of her couldn't see how people could ostracize such an adorable thing in front of them so cruelly.
"How much are they?" he asked softly. Both of their eyes widened a little and they knew now what he was so nervous about.
The Uchiha clan, as compensation for the actions of their clan head, had to pay off all the costs for the damages caused during the rampage of the boy's father.
As such, the clan elders had seized the amount from the head family's funds taking a huge chunk off from their fortune. No one knew what happened to the rest after his mother's death.
But Tobirama did. Not for what had become of the rest of the family's fortunes, that were still a mystery in themselves as to how large they truly were and what became of them. But he knew of the boy's plight and the reason of his current nervousness.
He had come to know it through the now clan elder and his ex-subordinate Kagami Uchiha. The man had tried as much as he could to make the boy's life comfortable but hadn't been able to do much despite that.
A lone man against the rest of the clan's despise, he couldn't do much no matter how much he had wanted to. But the clan still had to uphold it's honor as the oldest and noblest of them all, and as such according to the ancient traditions of Uchiha orphan children fund.
The clan gave the boy a fixed sum of money as set by the elders of that time each month until he was old enough to take care of himself thereby by considered an adult, or had a stable income source in his life. Whichever condition was fulfilled first.
And that in itself was where the problem lay. The Uchiha clan's traditional laws hadn't been updated since a long time and the amount was a sum set decades ago, therefore not enough for a proper and comfortable living in this day and time.
Now that wasn't usually a problem for the orphaned child since the Uchiha's had their own shopping districts and way of life. Their clan members could be said as one of the most caring and protective of all the clans, as funny as it sounded it was true.
The children who had been orphaned due to some reason would get huge cuts in prices and discounts all over the things they purchased, to the point of getting some things free in their clan compounds therefore nullifying the need for any extra money other than that old fixed stipend.
But Naruto wasn't a simple orphan.
No one cared if he lived or died. Instead most would prefer it if he died and no longer a threat to bring more shame to their clan.
Mito saw through Tobirama's contemplative expression and knew that the man was rummaging through his mind for a solution.
But in this case she was a bit ahead of him.
"Tobirama, don't you have some manuscripts of the books you wrote last year for the new curriculum?" she asked him, making the shaggy white haired man nod in affirmative at her question
"But they are mere prototype manuscripts I wrote containing only the most essential of materials. It had to undergo a complete rewrite by the order of the council since my writings were far too complex and detailed for children as young as them." he cut her musings short.
"Umm can I have them please Ojii-san?" asked the soft and shy voice of the blonde who was standing quietly to the side and listening to their conversations for a while now.
Tobirama though saw his eyes, the eyes that were eager to learn. But what if he couldn't understand them? They would do more harm to the boy than good…
"Please, I'll give them back to you if I don't understand. But if you can I'll take them…" he asked him in a pleading voice and those innocent eyes made even his heart melt.
He sighed, looks like age really was catching up to him. He crushed those thoughts instantly, what was he thinking? He wasn't old, he hated being old, he scolded himself inwardly.
"Alright…" he said and Mito giggled when the boy perked up with a smile in an instant. To Naruto they served two purposes, first he got off from paying. But that wasn't the reason he asked for them.
They were incredibly complex and detailed, written by the Hokage himself. Now that was a challenge, and how would he be Hokage, if he couldn't even understand one's written knowledge himself?
Tobirama wanted to see how far the boy would go with those manuscripts. He would keep an eye over him just in case he pushed himself too far and wasn't able to cope up with the detailed knowledge himself.
Though he had a hunch that the boy might surprise him. And he loved these kinds of surprises a lot.
"Alright then I'll bring them over to your house tomorrow. Then we can see if you need those clothes and equipment really or not." he said stoically with a hint of warmth and ruffled the boy's hair who just looked at him with affectionate and longing eyes.
Naruto had seen father's do this to their children and now he knew how nice it felt. Tobirama saw it and a slice of guilt flashed through his heart when he saw those longing blue eyes that looked for affection in even the smallest of things.
He was the very reason the boy had eyes like those in the first place. He had taken his father's life, in combat or not and it weighed heavily on his shoulders now. This was why he never let emotions out of his heart.
They made things complicated. Now he knew whatever the boy would say when he came to know he was the one responsible for taking his father's life, the boy would despise him.
And deep within him he knew it would hurt him. But he would endure it, for he was a shinobi and he had promised his father to look after the boy.
"Don't worry Izuna, I've got eyes on your boy now…" he thought when he watched Mito pinch the cheeks of the blonde who was blushing and mumbling incoherently with pinched cheeks to let go, not that the Uzumaki heiress was listening to him in the slightest.
"Alright Ojii-san, Mito-sama. I'll be taking my leave now." he said politely with a slight bow and the two were surprised at the manners he had at so young an age.
Before Mito could break out of her thoughts and tell him to not call her that, the blonde was off with a wave. Now how was she supposed to tell him…
Her thoughts trailed off and she smiled at the stoic Senju slyly. Tobirama grew uncomfortable at the sight of that smile. That smile meant she wanted something and he was an essential part of it.
But the thing that annoyed him the most was that she always got what she wanted, no matter what he argued with his ever present logic. For that was the power of women that not even Tobirama Senju was able to overcome.
He just prayed to heavens that Tsunade didn't turn out like her grandmother. He even shuddered to think what she would do to men when she grew up. Her temper was already of the legendary and fiery Uzumakis.
He just didn't know then how much the relations between the Senju and Uchiha clans were going to change in the coming future.
Author's notes : I apologize for this re-write but it had to be done. You see when I tried to work on this story I read the past few chapters. The number of flaws in there, my rushed writing, decline of quality (I think this one's better if not please tell me if not in reviews) and the overall length too wasn't satisfying enough for me to write further. This is the length the future chapters can be expected to be, so you know how long they'll be in the future. As many may have noticed, the plot is overall the same as the other one with only minor tinkering here and there to make it flawless. I have really high hopes for this and Naruto : Remnants of the Past since these are the two most rarely touched time-lines ever. So please forgive me for making you read it again but I had to do it to overcome my block. Until next time keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)
